Tales from the Blight
by WaywardQuasar
Summary: A collection of one-shots about Rhea Tabris and her time as a Grey Warden. Mostly involving Alistair. Rated M for smut. I keep having headcannons about Dragon Age - they'll probably end up here I try to keep some canon dialogue, but I also change it to suit the story. The short stories will not necessarily be in chronological order. Constructive criticism welcomed.
1. Zevran's advice

"Lalalalalala! I'm not listening!" Rhea walked up to the commotion to find Alistair stood with his face scrunched up and his hands pressed firmly over his ears, while Zevran stalked off muttering something about 'finicky Fereldens'.

"Alistair?" He still had his hands over his ears, so she poked him in the ribs and his eyes opened.

Realising that Zevran had returned to the other side of the camp, he finally lowered his hands and sighed with relief. "Something you need, my dear?" He asked.

"Not really… what was all that about?"

"Ah, that? That was… nothing…" She stared as his face slowly turned a deep beetroot colour.

"Are you okay?"

"Me? Yes, I'm fine… absolutely fine, why do you ask?"

Rhea looked at him quizzically, "Well, you are kind of red. And you were lalala-ing. What was Zevran saying to you?" Her eyes widened, "Did he proposition you? I told him specifically to leave you alone!" She turned as if to leave and go after the retreating assassin but was stopped by Alistair's hand on her shoulder.

"Er, no. It wasn't that." He shifted uncomfortably, " He, ah, wanted to give me some advice about, er, us. And that thing we do. In the night. Together."

She blinked with confusion and then it dawned on her, "You mean sex?"

Alistair coughed slightly, "Yes. That thing." His blush was refusing to go, and Rhea could almost feel the heat radiating off of his cheeks. She began to smirk slightly.

"You did tell me that the whole camp would find out," She said holding back giggles, "It can't be that bad, Zev was only trying to help, what did he say?"

He gave her a pained look, "Are we actually talking about this?"

"Why yes, Alistair love, we are…" Rhea couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. It streamed out of her, causing tears to well at the sides of her eyes.

"Haha. Yes it's all very funny. Let's all laugh at Alistair. As a matter of fact I don't know what he said, I was lalala-ing and you so kindly put it."

With some effort, Rhea composed herself. Reaching forward on her tiptoes she rubbed her nose against his. "You don't need advice from Zev, I like you just the way you are."

She darted forward and pecked him on the lips before leaning in close to his ear. "Though when he talked to _me,_ he did mention something interesting that I'd quite like to try…"

"He did…?" Alistair's voice has deepened and his words were becoming heavy with desire at her proximity.

"Yes, he told me that men go crazy for this particular thing." Leaning in, impossibly closer she whispered something in his ear then turned and walked away, hips swaying.

"Your… mouth?" Alistair's eyes widened. "Your mouth…."

She pierced him with a look over her shoulder, one eyebrow raised. "So? Are you coming?" She asked, before disappearing into her tent.

He stood there, stunned for a moment or two, before all but running to her tent.

* * *

On the other side of the camp Lelianna paused tuning her lute and nudged Zevran with her foot. "Alistair just ran into Rhea's tent."

He looked up in time to see the tent flap waft close. A devilish smirk appeared on his face. "It seems that our lovely leader may have taken our talk earlier to heart."

"What did you say to her?"

"Oh, this and that. I thought that I'd offer some tips from one of my many areas of expertise. I merely suggested a use for that lovely mouth of hers other than giving orders…"

Lelianna snorted with laughter. "You didn't?"

"You know, Lelianna, you have a beautiful mouth too…"

"No."

"But…"

"No."


	2. Decisions

She didn't trust Anora. That was the main problem. Anora seemed to be a good enough ruler, experienced and smart. But she was also manipulative and determined to hang on to her power.

Rhea thought back to Alistair, he would make a good king, she was sure of it. But, she had to admit to herself, he didn't have the first idea about how to run a kingdom yet. He'd even passed leadership of their little party over to her after Ostagar.

It was a dilemma. Who to pick? Ideally a mixture of both people would have been perfect. Alistair's loyalty, kindness and bravery, and Anora's intelligence, experience and reputation. Rhea needed all the support that she could get in the upcoming Landsmeet, but she just didn't feel right about putting Anora on the throne in order to get it. Especially with no one beside her to keep an eye on the situation.

There was a third option. Rhea shied away from it even as it came to the forefront of her thoughts. She could put both of them on the throne. A political marriage.

But no, what about Alistair's feelings, what about their loving relationship that was flourishing even with all the darkness around? He would feel betrayed, angry. And although she had no intention of leaving him if this did go ahead, he may not even want her anymore for even suggesting it.

A sharp stab of jealousy slammed through her mind, if she did propose this solution, and if both parties accepted, and if he still wanted to be with her afterwards, she would have to share him for the rest of her life. Could she do that if it were the best for Ferelden?

_Yes._ She thought_. Yes, I think I could._ Because if she was truly honest with herself, she didn't want to put either on the throne on their own. There was more at stake here than her own happiness.

Taking a deep breath, Rhea headed towards Anora's room. She knocked and entered.

"I'm glad you came to see me Warden." Anora continued to speak, answering Rhea's short questions, presenting her case and pointing out Alistair's failings. She even apologised for that 'small' lack of judgement that had landed both Rhea and Alistair in the dungeons for a short period of time.

Now, she had to suggest it now, "What about if you were to marry Alistair?" As the words tumbled out of her mouth she felt dirty. How could she be doing this to him? To them?

"Ignoring the fact that he is Calain's brother, my recently deceased husband if you recall, surely you would not be so eager to pawn the lad off on to me, I was under the impression that you two were…" She tailed off with a small gesture.

"Have you not heard of a political marriage?"

"Indeed. It was how mine and Calain's marriage started, it did, however, grow into more over time. Are you not worried about that?"

"That's none of your business." Rhea snapped out before she could control the stab of jealousy that splintered through her brain.

"Very well." The blonde woman considered the proposal for a moment, "And what makes you think that Alistair will agree to this?"

"I'm sure I could persuade him." The words were bitter in her mouth.

"So, if I marry Alistair you will support me in the Landsmeet?"

There was no turning back now. "Yes."

"Very well. You will have to talk to the lad though."

_Later, _Rhea thought, _I'll talk to him later. I can't, not right now._

* * *

Alistair caught her arm and pulled her to one side. "Anora keeps looking at me like I'm a cow that she's deciding whether to slaughter, and then when I asked her why, she said "It would be like marrying his twin." I misheard that, right? Tell me I misheard that!"

Rhea couldn't meet his eyes, she felt awful. "You don't look that much like Cailan." She joked, half-heartedly.

"You… why would you do that? What about us?"

She flinched at the pain in his voice. Looking up into his eyes she whispered, "Alistair… I love you. But we need Anora's support, and I don't trust her enough yet to just hand Ferelden over. This is a political arrangement, nothing more. I have no intention of leaving you, I love you so much – please believe me. But I'm also not stupid enough to think an elf from the alienage would ever be allowed to marry a king…"

He winced at the last few words, and Rhea could tell that that same thought had crossed his mind before too, "All right. I'll accept that… for now. But why do you think I should do this? Tell me. Rhea, I need to know why you, you of all people, would suggest this."

Rhea glanced away for a moment before taking a deep breath and holding his gaze. "Alistair, you are an exceptional warrior, you inspire the people around you to be better, your loyalty knows no bounds, you care so much for your people… but you have no experience in the day to day running of an arldom, let alone a kingdom, and the kingdom you are set to inherit is in a mess.

"I think you will be an amazing king, given time. But we don't have that luxury. And Anora, despite all her faults, has the experience we need. At least at the beginning, she can rule, while you lead. It's perfect…" She trailed off bitterly.

He searched her eyes, and sighed, "You might have something there. All right, if it comes to that… I'll agree to marry her. Maker help us all." She reached towards him, the pain in his expression cutting at something deep inside of her, but he shrugged her off.

"Go and tell her, if you think it's a good idea. Me, I think I need a drink. Or ten." He turned and walked away from her.

"Alistair…"

He didn't look back, "No Rhea, I need to think." With that, he walked out of the room.

Rhea felt like someone was digging a small knife into her stomach, but she kept herself composed through sheer willpower, and walked to inform Anora of the development. It was difficult to pay attention to the noble woman, the pain inside of her seemed to be growing with every passing second.

One part cut right through her hurt though.

"Cailan did, of course, have his women. But he always kept them hidden from me. My point is, I have already had one husband with eyes elsewhere. Am I to have another?"

A shard of ice pierced through her heart. "I am not going anywhere."

"All I ask is that the two of you don't embarrass me then." Anora's tone had turned cold and dismissive. "Goodbye, Warden."

Rhea nodded her head and backed out of the room. Struggling to keep her emotions contained, she practically ran through the halls of the estate, leaving behind shocked servants and bemused nobles. Finally, she reached her room and locked herself in. It was only then, when she was alone, that she let the tears come. Rhea muffled the sounds of her grief with her hand, but the choking sobs just wouldn't stop. She sat there for what seemed like hours until exhaustion over took her and she slept.

* * *

They had won the landsmeet. Everyone was celebrating. Lelianna had broken out her lute and was singing songs of victory while Zevran clapped and sang along – the two having become quite close during their travels. Oghren was on his tenth goblet of mead and seemed to be trying to ride Rhea's marbari, Wrex. As ever Wynne stood back and kept an eye on everyone, smiling at their antics. Even Morrigan seemed to be enjoying herself… though Sten was stood in the corner, stoic as ever.

The only person missing was Alistair. And as cheers spread through the room at the opening of the door, Rhea knew that he had arrived.

Smiling and nodding at his friends and companions, Alistair walked up to Rhea and muttered, "I need to talk to you, come with me?"

Feeling slightly numb, she nodded and followed him out of the room to a deserted corridor.

He turned to face her, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not going to question why you made me king, I even think I'm coming round to the idea anyhow, it could be an interesting future for me. I even understand why you arranged for me to marry Anora. But being king, that raises some questions about us. About you and me."

"I know." It was a broken whisper.

"I love you, more than I thought was possible. But I have to face what being king means. I will have to produce an heir – if I even can, and that heir will be with Anora." His expression held the unsaid words, _not with you._

"But I love you, isn't that enough? Nobody can force a king to do something he doesn't want to do." Rhea felt as if her heart was breaking.

"You mean, marry Anora, but carry on with whomever I want? You don't think that would be incredibly unfair? To Anora, as well as you?"

"Being king isn't supposed to be a punishment, Alistair. I can't picture my life without you in it. I love you. And Anora knows that I had no intention of leaving you. But this is your choice. If you want me to leave, I'll go. It will hurt, but I will respect your decision." She couldn't keep eye contact any longer. She was holding back tears with the last thread of her pride.

"Maker, I don't want you to go. I want nothing less than for you to leave." He cupped her cheek with one hand. "Rhea…" His eyes hardened. "Damn them all anyhow. If they want to make me king, I'll be king. But I'll do exactly what I want to do!"

"Alistair?" She couldn't keep the hope out of her voice.

"I love you." And with that, Alistair captured her lips. She kissed him back, delighting in the feel of his rough stubble scraping against her skin, the rich, sweet taste of him as she reached out with her tongue. Breaking the kiss for a moment he murmured, "I'm so sorry for bringing this up, can I ever make it up to you?" Before returning to her mouth with a passion that was only increasing with each passing moment.

"I'm sure I can think of a way." Rhea smiled into the kiss and nipped at his lower lip, enjoying the blush that spread across his cheeks.


	3. Wedding?

"Wedding? You're married?" Alistair couldn't keep the shock out of his voice, he was, he admitted to himself, a little hurt by this admission.

"I was betrothed. It didn't end well." She sighed, not looking at him, still facing her cousin.

"Still, you never told me that you were betrothed. What happened?"

She pierced him with a look over her shoulder. "There were rapists. And we got the wrong cake. Disastrous!"

"I… all right… that does sound bad." Alistair rubbed at his neck, unsure as to what to do. His elfin lover turned back to her cousin.

"All right, I'm going to have a look inside this hospice."

"I knew you'd do something, cousin! Maker watch over you."

As the vocal, redheaded girl, (was it Shianni?), scuttled off, Rhea Tabris turned back to her companions. Alistair noted the pinched look of her mouth and the worry in her eyes. It troubled him, she was always calm and collected, in fact he'd started to rely on the fact that she'd be there – unflinching as a rock, no matter the situation.

"They have my father. We need to get in. I don't know what is going on, but I don't like it." Her voice betrayed none of the fear behind her eyes.

A series of short nods passed throughout the group.

"So," Zevran ventured, "What's the plan? Are we going to sneak in and rescue some lovely elfin ladies? Or fight our way in and still rescue the lovely elfin ladies?"

"I don't really think that sneaking is an option. In case you haven't noticed, two of our number aren't exactly inconspicuous around here." She nodded towards Alistair and Lelianna and tapped her ears. "They're only taking elves and I don't particularly fancy going in without a full team of back up."

"Yes, going in alone, or even in a pair," Lelianna mused, "Would not be wise."

"All right. You two," Rhea gestured at Zevran and Lelianna, "Go and have a quick look around. But be careful. If you don't find anything useful we'll just go in the front door."

As they moved off, weaving in and out of the growing crowd of Alienage residents, Rhea turned back to face Alistair. She shifted her feet and seemed almost unable to meet his gaze. Her shapely hands clenching and unclenching under his gaze.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my betrothal, I-"

Alistair reached forward to gently caress her cheek. "It doesn't matter." He murmured, having gotten over his initial shock. "You don't have to tell me. The important thing now is to rescue your father."

She finally looked up, and he saw a faint flicker of surprise in the blue irises. Before he could say another word she had darted forward and seized his mouth in a swift kiss. Taken unawares, he didn't respond for a few seconds but then he leaned into the embrace and kissed her back, suckling gently at her lips until they parted on a sigh. He tentatively reached into her with his tongue, still new to this, and gently explored her mouth, her little moans and sighs engendering exquisite feelings of tenderness within him.

She tasted like he imagined good wine to taste like. Sweet, flavoursome and going straight to his head. She broke away for a moment to lean towards his ear and whisper, "Later, I'll tell you it all later." The she returned to kissing him. This time the kiss was stronger, deeper, wetter. Their tongues battled ferociously, their breathing speeding up and the air around them growing heavy with desire.

His hands snaked around her waist pulling her towards him… if only this blasted armour wasn't in the way…

"You two should get a room. Wait, I've heard you in your tent…"

"Shush Zevran, I think it's cute."

The two Wardens broke apart smiling sheepishly.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm one for public displays of affection…" Alistair joked, while still flushing a rather deep pink colour.

"Warden, the front door seems our best bet, it doesn't seem too heavily guarded."

"Then let's take this place down." There was a determined set to her face and the others fell in behind her, ready to face whatever the Alienage could throw at them.

* * *

The red-haired elf ran up to Rhea, "You did it! I knew you would cousin! You're staying for dinner, right? I'm sure we could break out a bottle of wine for the catch up!"

Rhea laughed, Alistair thought it was a beautiful sound, "Best make it two, we have a lot to catch up on…" She hesitated momentarily, "Shianni, would it be all right if I brought a guest?"

"Is there something you're not telling me, cousin?" Alistair looked up from cleaning his blade just in time to see a touch of pink enter his fellow warden's cheeks. That was odd, Rhea was usually so composed. Shianni's eyes had wandered to Zevran. "Do please tell me that this is the fine specimen that you are referring to…'

Zevran chuckled. "I appreciate the compliment, my fine lady, and would be delighted to join you for an evening…" He raised his eyebrows suggestively, "However, I am fairly certain that I am not the guest your cousin referred to."

"Oh." Shianni looked confused, "Then who?"

Rhea reached behind her and grabbed Alistair's unsuspecting arm. Startled out of his exasperation with Zevran's constant flirting he didn't resist and was dragged in front of a suddenly tense Shianni.

"Shianni, this is Alistair." When this statement was met with silence, Rhea elbowed him hard in the ribs, "Say hello Alistair."

"Hello, Shianni. It's a pleasure to meet you." Alistair extended his hand towards her in greeting and she flinched. He quickly dropped it back down to his side. "Er… sorry. I'll just, er, go back to what I was doing…" He made a hasty retreat.

"Cousin. May I talk to you for a second?" Shianni's eyes hadn't left Alistair's retreating back and he was beginning to feel a little nervous about the whole thing.

The two elves walked a short distance and then began conversing in low, heated tones. Alistair tried his best not to listen to them, but he couldn't help but overhear bits of their exchange.

"…shem…"

"Why does that matter? He…"

"…they did to me?"

"…not like that…"

Alistair looked up just in time to catch Shianni looking carefully into her cousin's eyes. Seeming satisfied but not happy, she nodded once and they both headed back to the main group.

"Alistair, would you like to join our family for a meal and some wine later on this evening?"

He met her gaze cautiously, "I would love to, I look forward to meeting the rest of Rhea's family."

"I guess I'll see you later then," This was directed at Rhea. "For now, goodbye." Shianni then turned and disappeared into the depths of the Alienage, blending into the crowd effortlessly.

As the group headed back to Arl Eamon's estate, Alistair walked close to Rhea in silence, and when they arrived the two wardens headed up to his room.

Closing the door behind him Alistair unbuckled and removed his heavy armour, walked up behind his love and wrapped his arms about her smooth, lithe waist.

"If it makes your family uncomfortable, I don't have to come tonight…" He breathed into her ear.

She leant back into his chest. "No, I want you there. You're important to me too."

He blushed at her frankness, it always amazed him that someone like her would even give him the time of day, "Will I have to make small talk? You know how bad I am at small talk… I start babbling and then anything can come out of my mouth…"

She looked at him over her shoulder, an amused glint in her eye. "You'll be fine Alistair. I'm sure my father will like you, it's only Shianni who may feel uncomfortable." As she finished her face became closed off, guarded again.

He did not like the pain he saw in her eyes. Turning her in his arms he enveloped her in a bear hug, one hand reaching up to unpin her hair so the locks cascaded down her back. He gently played with the ends of her hair, the tips silky in his fingers.

Thinking back to a time, not that long ago, when this little elf had gone out of her way to ask him if he wanted to talk about Duncan when he had felt as if he had broken inside, he held her close and murmured, "Tell me."

In response her hold on him tightened. Wanting her to feel comfortable, Alistair lead Rhea to the bed in the centre of the room and the pair sat, side by side, her head quietly resting on his shoulder as he continued to play with her hair.

"I don't know how much you know about Alienages. I don't remember there being one in Redcliffe, so I guess not much." Alistair sat in silence, letting her talk. "But my people aren't respected in them, we're treated as servants, playthings for the nobles to toy with."

She took a breath. "On the day Duncan came, I was to be married - as was my cousin Soris. In the cities you don't get a choice in who you marry. There are just too few families in the area. So your parents arrange for you to marry another elf from another Alienage. I was resisting the idea, but I didn't really have a choice. When I met Nealros, I was relieved. He was kind and handsome…" Alistair's hand tightened slightly at this statement, "…and he seemed to be happy to have been paired with me. But just as we were being introduced the Arl's son arrived and began to harass the women of the Alienage. I tried to calm everyone down, but Shianni lost her temper and knocked him out with a bottle.

"His men carried him off, they shouted things about how we would pay for this, but we all tried to put it out of our minds and continue with the celebration. Eventually, the ceremony started, and that was when the Arl's son and his men returned. They said they needed women for a party and they began picking who they were going to take. You have to understand, this wasn't unusual. Shianni was picked, as was Soris's bride and the bridesmaids. I tried to reason with them, I told them to just take me and leave the others," Alistair froze at the idea of Rhea putting herself in danger like that, but she was already continuing with her tale, "but then one of them hit me over the head with something and the next thing I knew I was in the castle.

"The men came into the room and one of the bridesmaids tried begging but they cut her down and laughed, then they took the others, leaving me in the room with two guards who kept talking about what they were going to do to me. I didn't have any weapons but I was preparing to fight. I'd seen women be taken before and they rarely returned or if they did, they returned… broken. It was better to die fighting than to give into them. Then Soris opened the door to the room and threw me a longsword that Duncan had lent him. He saved my life.

"I killed the guards and Soris quickly explained that Nealros was guarding the hall and we needed to move quickly to save the others. I lead the way and we made our way through the rooms killing the guards in each. We opened the door to the hallway the Nealros was supposed to be in but, " Her voice cracked, "we were too late, they had gutted him on the floor like a pig. A damn pig, not a person!" Alistair held her closer, trying to sooth the dry sobs that were being forced out of her chest.

"And I was too late to save Shianni. She was alive and I killed the Arl's son and the men surrounding her, they tried to pay me to leave her with them, but I slaughtered them like the animals they were. But I was too late…" Her voice had fallen to a broken whisper. "I should have been faster. I shouldn't have let them take her. It's my fault…"

"No." She looked up into Alistair's eyes at this statement. He met her gaze, seeing the unshed tears, and vowing that she would never have to feel this way again. "You fought and you did your best. You're too hard on yourself. The only one at fault was the Arl's son and he got what he deserved because of _you_." He kissed her forehead. "It's thanks to _you_ that Shianni is even alive…" He kissed her cheek. "It's thanks to _you_ that Arl Eamon's family is whole." He kissed her ear. "It's thanks to _you_ that we have allies in this war." He kissed her lips. "It's thanks to _you_ that I am alive and happy… so very happy." He leant down and pressed his forehead to hers looking deep into her eyes. They stayed in that position for a few long moments, content to simply be with each other.

Her hands crept up beneath his undershirt to toy with the fine hairs on his chest. Alistair could feel his heartbeat increase at her light touch and other parts were also stirring in interest. He tilted his head towards her to capture a sweet kiss. She tasted of fresh fruit, sweet and succulent, and it was all he could do to keep from moaning. Her hands tightened on his chest, fingers tenderly stroking around his hard nipples as she deepened the kiss, slowly exploring his mouth with her tongue, tentatively at first and then growing in confidence as he shuddered with pleasure.

Breaking the kiss, he lay back on the bed and she followed, straddling his waist. Her armoured skirt rose up gifting Alistair with the sight of her smooth, muscled thighs. His hands went towards them, instinctively, rough callused fingers rubbing circles in the pale skin. With each movement he dared closer and closer to her centre. Rhea quivered with anticipation. Alistair's fingers were so close to her now, he could feel her heat, which seemed to be increasing with every passing second, scorching his fingertips. His thumb brushed her sensitive inner thigh, and she let out a cry as she felt tension begin to build in her lower abdomen.

Pleased with the sound, Alistair brushed the spot again, letting his fingers linger and caress her skin, this time eliciting a short gasp. Rolling them over he covered her with his weight and pushed her skirt further up exposing her to him. He lowered his mouth to hers, addicted to the taste of her. Thoroughly enjoying the feel of her lips moving against his, but wanting more, he reached between them and flicked a finger over her undergarments. She was damp and pliant under the thin material. Alistair traced his fingertips over her, a light caress that left her gasping into the kiss. Rhea shifted, trying to get closer to him, but he had her pinned under his larger weight. Smiling against her mouth, Alistair caught hold of her panties and pulled sharply, tearing them away. Rhea, suddenly realised how exposed she was to him and flushed a deep pink.

Alistair broke the kiss and looked down before he gave her a wicked look, "You're blushing there too…" And then he was stroking his fingers across her entrance, delighting in how wet she was, how he was affecting her. He had never thought that he would find someone like her, that he would be able to give her pleasure such as this. He slowly probed her with one finger, dipping into her heat swiftly before withdrawing, while finding the small nub of pleasure hidden within her folds with his thumb. He continued the move his finger in and out and in and out every so often causing his thumb to brush against her clitoris rhythmically as he bent his head down to nibble and suck at her neck. Gasping, moaning sounds were dragged from Rhea's throat as the sharp scent of arousal spiked through the air.

"More!"

Alistair was happy to oblige and shifted down the bed, continuing to caress her intimately with his fingers. He stared at the pinkness between her legs, watched his finger disappeared into her only to reappear glistening moments later. Her body was so foreign, so different to his own. So unashamedly soft compared to his. He felt himself harden even more and a jolt of pleasure rushed through him at the sight of her. He was still not an expert at this, but he was learning. Removing his hand, he blew a gentle breath over her. Rhea gasped at this unfamiliar sensation, and jerked on the bed, her core releasing a rush of scalding heat in response.

Leaning forward, Alistair kissed her sex, his tongue swirling between her folds and gently penetrating her – replacing his absentee fingers. He loved the taste of her and, judging from her cry, she loved being tasted. Finding that little nub again, he clamped down on it with his mouth and sucked, hard. Once. Twice.

Rhea clutched at the sheets, panting, her thighs twisting this way and that under Alistair's firm grip. He was relentless and the pleasure was relentless, almost bordering on pain, when suddenly she fractured around him, her core muscles pulsating and releasing a liquid heat. He continued to gently suck and nibble between her thighs, enjoying the way her muscles were tensing and trembling around him.

As she became soft and pliant under his hands he grinned and raised his head. Rhea met his eyes and blinked, still in a daze as she came back down from orgasm. As her body finished relaxing and recovering from his touch, Alistair stood up and removed his clothing, no longer as self conscious and he had been on their first night together. His erection popped free of his breeches with ease and he turned back to the bed. He was hard and aching for her.

Rhea lay there, sated, but still eying him with lust. He walked back to the bed and crawled over until he could pull down her skirt and unlace her top. Once her clothing was gone he lay down on top of her, her full, pert breast stroking against his chest, his weight resting on his arms. Slowly he rubbed against her slick entrance and impossibly felt himself stiffen even more. Carefully positioning himself he entered her slowly, and almost came from the feel of her tight heat around him. She moaned as he buried himself in her and then slowly withdrew again. He repeated the action, and this time she rolled her hips up to meet his, heightening the depth of his penetration and causing him to rub against her in way that caused sharp spikes of pleasure to radiate through them both with every thrust.

He continued this slow pace, leaving them both breathless, lost in each other's eyes. Alistair loved the feel of her under him, surrounding him with her tight warmth, loving him. He loved the way she looked at him, her deep, blue eyes filled with affection and passion, slowly becoming more hooded as the pleasure built within her. He was drowning in the feeling of her and when she began to moan his name, Alistair felt his control slipping. He sped up his thrusts, angling himself to increase her pleasure, and his own, until she came for a second time, her internal muscles clamping down on him. This time she kissed him fiercely as she rode the orgasm and this pushed him over the edge, he wanted, no, needed to be even deeper inside of her.

Withdrawing completely and flipping her onto her back, he positioned her on her knees, her hands braced against the headboard. Then he thrust into her from behind, one arm looping round to cup her breast and keep her close and the other buried in her folds toying with her clit. Rhea cried out at this new position, the feel of him in, on top of and surrounding her too much to bear. She saw stars as he began to move at speed.

Alistair couldn't think past the wonderful friction of her. He played with her in time with his thrusts as all thoughts vanished from his mind and instinct took over, and soon, too soon, her inner walls were clenching again as she screamed his name. This time there was no holding back and he went with her, spilling his seed as the pleasure streamed through him.

Exhausted, the two wardens collapsed on the bed, her body draped lazily over his, fingers softly tracing patterns over his chest.

"You know, I still half expect to be struck by lightning or for the Maker to smite me where I stand… well lie…"

Chuckling Rhea smacked at his chest lightly. "He'll have to go through me first."

"Well, you can be quite scary sometimes…"

"Ha! That's why you gave me the rose… because I have thorns!"

"You are rather skilled with those daggers of yours."

"Damn right!"

Alistair relaxed into the playful banter, loving the feel of her warm body on him. But the moment didn't last for long as she soon shifted away from him and pulled on her shirt.

Grinning he caught her around her waist and breathed, "And where are you going?", into her shapely ear.

She shuddered, her body, and her heart, still wanting him, but she fought the compulsion and swatted him away, "I need to get cleaned up before we head to my father's house." She stood, darting away from his reaching hands and headed for the door. "Meet me, in the entrance hall in an hour?"

"I'll see you there." And then she was gone.

Alistair stretched lazily on the twisted sheets with a small smile on his face, the scent of her still thick in the air. Rising to his feet slowly he headed to the small alcove where he bathed, and began to clean himself, still smiling.

* * *

About an hour later, Alistair was waiting by the entrance dressed in a loose white shirt and brown, leather breeches. Suddenly, he heard a scuffle behind him and turned around just in time to see Lelianna's head dart back through the large wooden doors at the end of the hall.

Curiously, Alistair started towards the door when he unexpectedly heard voices giggling from the other side of the door.

"…he's there." That was Lelianna.

"Are you sure this looks fine?"

"You look amazing and just look at those shoes…"

"You a ravishing sight, my lady." And that sounded like Zevran.

"Zevran! Eyes up!" Was heard, confirming his suspicions.

"You would deny me such a view?" A pause, "Okay! No need for the knives!"

"Off you go, he's waiting for you."

"Okay, if you're sure…"

Alistair quickly moved back to the other end of the hall to disguise the fact he had been eavesdropping. The doors creaked open and a small, lithe figure slowly walked into the room. She was dressed in a simple green gown that accentuated her full bosom, fitted close to her shapely waist and then flared out over her hips. Her hair was delicately piled up on her head, with curls cascading down on either side of her face.

She ran over to him and as she got closer he realised that she had her daggers tucked into a thin, leather belt about her hips. He felt his breathing quicken at the sight of her. At about 10 metres away she seemed to remember that she was trying to act like a lady and skidded to a halt before demurely walking the rest of the distance.

She curtsied before him, a wicked glint in her eye, "Are you ready to receive me, my prince?"

"I knew I'd regret telling you that."

Smiling at him she looped her arm through his, "I'll take that as a yes."

"Maker's breath, you're beautiful."

"You're not exactly hard on the eyes either."

It didn't take the pair long to reach Cyrion's house in the Alienage. Alistair stood back as Rhea stepped forward and knocked on the door. He felt as if there were a thousand butterflies in his stomach and his palms were beyond sweaty.

Rhea's father opened the door and his face broke into a broad smile tinged with an old and well spent grief when he saw his daughter before him.

"You look more like your mother every day. Come in, come in." He gestured them inside, "And you must be Alistair, I never thanked you for helping rescue me earlier, I am sorry. I most likely owe my life to you."

"It was nothing, I'm glad to have helped."

Cyrion shepherded the two wardens into the main room where Shianni and a tall red-headed man who must be Soris were already waiting.

"Rhea!" That was Soris, "I thought you died at Ostagar, we all thought you were dead!" He practically leapt across the room and seized her in a bear hug.

"Soris! You're all right! I was worried about after I left… where's Valora?"

"She's resting at home, but cousin, you must tell us of your adventures! Come, sit!"

The rest of the evening passed in a blur as stories were shared, adventures recounted and jokes told and laughed at. At first both Soris and Shianni acted relatively cool towards Alistair, but at the night progressed they warmed up as they realised that he was treating them like any other, as an equal. Alistair was almost jealous of the close family bonds that tied them together – he had never experienced such a thing.

One conversation in particular stood out. It occurred after Alistair had volunteered to clear the table, after literally pushing Rhea back down into her seat. As he was stacking pots and dishes he was surprised to hear someone enter the room behind him. Spinning round he saw Shianni leaning against the wall, arms crossed, looking at him with an inscrutable expression.

"You are a very strange human."

Alistair grinned, "Believe it or not, that's the very first thing your cousin ever said to me."

She offered a small smile back. "I can see why she cares for you, and I can see that you care for her deeply."

He wasn't sure what to say to this, but the small elf was already continuing.

"The thing about my cousin is, she will always sacrifice herself for others. She lied and protected Soris when the Arl's men came to arrest them, it was only the fact the Duncan recruited her that stopped her from being taken to the dungeon and most likely executed. She offered herself to that _shem_ who took us so that the rest could be saved. But she never expected anyone to do the same for her. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Silently, Alistair nodded.

"Be good to her, Alistair. Maker knows, she deserves it." With that, she turned and left him to rejoin the others.

* * *

Later that night as the lay entwined on his bed, Alistair thought back to the easy companionship, love and affection that Rhea's family had demonstrated. It was times like this that he wished he had known his mother, wished that he had experienced what it was like to be cared for so unconditionally. But then he remembered, "_You're my family now.", _the words spoken with such sincerity, loyalty and affection in those blue eyes. Of course he'd experienced it, he experienced it every day with her.

Leaning in closer to her softly breathing body, he whispered, "I love you Rhea, with all my heart.", into her ear.

As she snuggled closer into him, he smiled and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
